raise high the nexus 4, carpenters —

Google’s Nexus 4 gets a design tweak for scratch-prone back

Body scratches mean the Nexus 4 gets two new appendages.

If you’re a proud Nexus 4 owner, you may have noticed that the smooth, glittery back of the phone makes it a bit slippery in the hand and scratch-prone on flat surfaces. Worse, when the phone is lying flat, the single rear-facing speaker is completely blocked. But don't fret. Google and LG are now shipping a new version of the phone with tiny rubber feet to hold it off surfaces it rests on, and the companies have also given the rear-facing camera a new housing, according to Android Central.

Tiny design tweaks to smartphones after they’ve started shipping are pretty uncommon, even when flaws are borderline egregious (see: Apple’s Antennagate in 2010). Most companies simply carry over those lessons to their next design. But apparently the complaints of scratches on the Nexus 4’s glossy back have been numerous enough for the phone to evolve little feet along its bottom edge.

Both the Nexus 4’s back and front are covered with Gorilla Glass 2, which is sturdy but scratch-prone. Reviews have also noted that the rear speaker is already tinny and quiet, so the fact it can be covered completely in the initial design by resting on a flat surface is not to its advantage.

LG also appears to have narrowed the exposed area around the Nexus 4 camera’s lens, though the impetus for that move is less apparent. Neither Google nor LG responded immediately to requests for comment on the redesign.

Casey Johnston
Casey Johnston is the former Culture Editor at Ars Technica, and now does the occasional freelance story. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Physics. Twitter@caseyjohnston

51 Reader Comments

Hmm, I just ordered one last night, is there a time frame they are planning this or is it already in the works? I would imagine I will get an older one, but frankly the updates don't look too huge to miss out on. Just curious I suppose.

I would have preferred that they put an anti-slip coating on the back of it instead, similar to the original nexus. The feet are a nice stop-gap measure, but it'll still slide off of anything that isn't perfectly flat.

Hmm, I just ordered one last night, is there a time frame they are planning this or is it already in the works? I would imagine I will get an older one, but frankly the updates don't look too huge to miss out on. Just curious I suppose.

According to the linked article, they ordered some on Monday and they had the new changes.

I'd like to know if this will be everywhere. Was thinking of picking up one from Wind here in Canada in a month or so. I would think it will just be wherever they naturally ship to, but we've been surprised up here before.

Hmm, I just ordered one last night, is there a time frame they are planning this or is it already in the works? I would imagine I will get an older one, but frankly the updates don't look too huge to miss out on. Just curious I suppose.

According to the linked article, they ordered some on Monday and they had the new changes.

I'd like to know if this will be everywhere. Was thinking of picking up one from Wind here in Canada in a month or so. I would think it will just be wherever they naturally ship to, but we've been surprised up here before.

Just order it from Google directly. Wind is charging $549. I guess they think Google hasn't come to Canada yet. Even with Wind Tab it is $249.

They didn't do it for the back (which is fine unless you drop it) but because without these bumps, laying the phone face-up on a flat surface practically mutes the back speaker. Which is why the nubs are only on the bottom edge of the back of the phone, where the speaker is located.

This is a good idea, I've never seen a phone so "slippery" - I constantly put my phone on a very slightly angled surface and while it will slide very slowly, it slides off whatever it is on all the time. It's almost uncannily slippery.

Just order it from Google directly. Wind is charging $549. I guess they think Google hasn't come to Canada yet. Even with Wind Tab it is $249.

Thanks, great advice. I wonder about these N5 October rumours, though. Perhaps I can stretch this Blackberry Tour until then? I can practically feel it turning to dust in my hands, though!

That's an interesting question. I got the N4 to replace a Galaxy Nexus, but they run nearly identical software. In my case, it wasn't such a great jump, the biggest plus is the IPS display versus the AMOLED display in the GNex. Google doesn't do radical hardware jumps, and I'm of the opinion that an N4 now is probably good for a few years. If you can wait, do it but I don't think the next Nexus is going to be a big jump from the N4 so you won't be losing out on much.

Perhaps companies should stop making glass-backed phones? The iPhones would break and, apparently, fall off (does this still happen? I don't know anyone that carries an iPhone uncased anyway). The Nexus 4 slips and gets scratched.

Seems the best solution, since it seems the majority of phones have some sort of case anyway, is to just put a nice nonslip coating on the back instead.

First N4 (RIP, eaten by a cab) did, in fact suffer damage to the back. One of the bottom corners shattered due to a drop on the wood floor. Dropped it probably 8 times in nearly 4 months, and not very impressively that I can recall. After 1 month N42 remains mint primarily due to the Incipio branded case I added as result of previous experience with N41.

Pretty sure that their reason for tweaking the camera housing is that it's quite fragile. A couple odd knocks and something comes loose in there. You can actually here something rattling while physically shaking the phone after this happens. This happened to both N41 and N42, though for whatever reason N42 seems to take superior photos.

Overall the N4 is a fantastic phone with the main shortcoming of limited choice of service provider due to lack of 4GLTE support. Not knocking the capability of the existing setup, in fact it is quite fast whenever TMobile signal is present; just saying I'd rather pay the extra cash for Verizon (/enable 4G surfing from couch).

I put my N4 in a fairly sturdy case - one of those a hybrid gel and shell models that are supposed to protect it from whatever daily abuse it gets (gel component to absorb impacts, hard shell component for protection from being sat upon or something, idk). I think adding in rubber feet or other such protuberances would only hinder cases. Put a phone without a case in a pocket with keys and it is going to get damaged, not to mention dropped, knocked, or tossed on the desk just a little too hard - so I don't really see getting a case as really going out of my way to protect it.

I'm fairly abusive (only out of neglect and absent-mindedness) and my N4 doesn't have so much as a scratch. The belt-clip on the case has been broken, but that seems a common complaint from the particular supplier (what do you expect for a $5 case?), but otherwise I don't have to worry about it.

I've had my N4 about a month. It's dropped to the floor at least three times - all off sturdy desks that an iPhone 4 didn't slide off. The back is also scratched, despite only being carried in my pocket on it's own, and laid on clean desks. The front is perfect.

I just lay mine on the floor now while charging, because it'll just slide off anything it's set on otherwise due to the weight of the cable. Shame the charging dock isn't available in the UK

Hmm, I just ordered one last night, is there a time frame they are planning this or is it already in the works? I would imagine I will get an older one, but frankly the updates don't look too huge to miss out on. Just curious I suppose.

I've had mine for 2 or 3 weeks, and it has these little feet... so, if you just ordered it last night you'll probably have them as well.

I'm discouraged by this because I was hoping for a moderately significant N4 update at Google IO; something along the lines of doubling the memory without changing the price (à la N7).

While this update doesn't rule out the possibility of the update I was hoping for, it seems unlikely that Google/LG would update HW for the same phone twice. Still hoping though.

Also, I wish they'd just stuck a plastic back on the thing. I don't care about scratches on the back, and I've *never* broken *any* phone, but I'd like to know it can take more of a hit than Gorilla Glass. I've heard about too many people whose iPhone4s have had shattered backs.

i have the Exact(TM) Armor Case for Google Nexus 4 from amazon and it has protected it well. I am very careful with the phone though, i never carry it in my pants pocket, but in my courier bag when i go to work and in my shirt pocket when i go out

the feet are TINY, if google image search is correct (I don't have my February vintage N4 for comparison right now but pretty sure it's feet free). Those feet are probably only good to arrest a slide off of a very slightly tilted surface. Couldn't imagine them providing significant back glass protection.

I may be a purist, but I don't like the little feet. If only they'd put a little "foot" to the ars of the radio, so that it can do LTE.

I've had my N4 for about 5 months (late November, I believe) and I don't use a case and there's some small, barely noticeable scratches/scuffing on the back just to the right of the camera. I assume it's just from setting it flat on my work desk, nightstand, coffee table, etc. I've actually been pretty impressed with how well the back glass has held up.And this phone is quiet? I think it's pretty loud, even when it's lying on my nightstand (it's my alarm clock).

"If you’re a proud Nexus 4 owner, you may have noticed that the smooth, glittery back of the phone makes it a bit slippery in the hand and scratch-prone on flat surfaces. Worse, when the phone is lying flat, the single rear-facing speaker is completely blocked. But don't fret. Google and LG are now shipping a new version of the phone with tiny rubber feet to hold it off surfaces it rests on, and the companies have also given the rear-facing camera a new housing, according to Android Central."

The article says "don't fret" if you're an existing owner - so are you saying existing owners will get new phones or new bumpers?

Seeing the pictures in Android Central the feet are way way tinier than I expected. I received my N4 three days ago, and was thinking "Doh, they release a new version just when I buy it", but it turns out my phone is the updated version, I hadn't noticed any feet (though I use the Google bumper).

(I live in Spain, just in case anybody wants to know before ordering).

The only thing that can scratch glass is something as hard or harder than glass. Stop getting dirt/sand in your pockets and stop putting your phone on dirt/sand and it wont scratch.

That said, this is the first phone (G1, Nexus 1, G2, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, N4) that i've gotten a case for (Ringke Slim) due to the fact that I hit the subway turnstyle with the back of it one day while it was in my pocket and decided that since it was glass I should cover it. Otherwise I have always had my phones naked and carried them on their own in my jeans/pants pocket. Never had ONE scratch on any of the displays.

The cover would just get scratched (or dirty if it's fabric) and then you would still have a scratched device, only heavier and bulkier and with a stupid flap hanging off it.

Just let the back get scratched. As long as the screen isn't too bad (scratches have to be pretty deep to see them when the backlight is active)..

Scratch $400 –500 phone or scratch $20 case. Hmm tough decision there. Every phone I've ever owned has had a protective case. Result? When I choose to replace it I make a small amount of cash from eBay plus no scratches, no broken screens & no insurance claims. Why would anyone NOT want to keep an expensive item like a smartphone in a case?

Well the "bumper" would solve this -were it not for the fact that you can't plug headphones with a normal 3.5mm plug into the phone with the bumper on (but only headphones with a special "slimline" 3.5mm plug). Honestly, as an owner of this phone my impression is that not a lot of thought or care has gone into its design.

Hmm, I just ordered one last night, is there a time frame they are planning this or is it already in the works? I would imagine I will get an older one, but frankly the updates don't look too huge to miss out on. Just curious I suppose.

According to the linked article, they ordered some on Monday and they had the new changes.

I'd like to know if this will be everywhere. Was thinking of picking up one from Wind here in Canada in a month or so. I would think it will just be wherever they naturally ship to, but we've been surprised up here before.

Just order it from Google directly. Wind is charging $549. I guess they think Google hasn't come to Canada yet. Even with Wind Tab it is $249.

Well the "bumper" would solve this -were it not for the fact that you can't plug headphones with a normal 3.5mm plug into the phone with the bumper on (but only headphones with a special "slimline" 3.5mm plug). Honestly, as an owner of this phone my impression is that not a lot of thought or care has gone into its design.

That's what Xacto knives are for: 15 seconds and it becomes much more useful.

But yeah, I concur about the design.

I've got the tiny feet on mine and while they do (after testing) "improve" the speaker when the phone is down it does seem like a design fail in the first place. The feet are absolutely tiny-the period on your keyboard is bigger. And yes the damn thing slides off anything (I think the Teflon coating may have been another ill advised choice ) but all in all it's an interesting set of hardware compared to an iPhone. My other nit to pick is the placement of the volume and power buttons: changing the volume with one hand (either actualy) often has me pushing the power at the same time since my supporting finger falls there naturally. I do prefer the top button and bottom edge speakers of the iPhone. But the screen is great, and I'm slowly getting used to the Android methodology. But clearly LG is not testing the crap out of their devices.